Port Chester Trustee Announces Candidacy for Legislature

A Port Chester trustee has his eye on a county legislature seat.

Daniel Brakewood, a Democrat, will run for the District 6 seat vacated when longtime legislator Martin Rogowsky retires later this year.

The district encompasses Port Chester, Rye Brook and Harrison and includes some 55,000 constituents.

Brakewood, in his fifth year as a village trustee after he was elected to the board in 2006, is a senior director at Pitney Bowes and has a resume that includes stints at General Electric and Alliance Capital. As the mayor's most visible ally on the village board, Brakewood brings a more low-key style even when clashing with the board's Republicans, and has been credited by political allies and opponents alike for his management expertise and ideas on fiscal issues.

Seen by some as a potential successor if Pilla had decided not to run for a third term as mayor this year, Brakewood has been the focus of some political attacks but has for the most part managed to stay on the periphery of the public arguments and blow-ups that have become a defining element of the current board. Like fellow trustees who won or were re-elected to seats on the Board of Trustees last year, Brakewood returned to the board in the 2010 election that saw Port Chester residents cast cumulative ballots for the first time.

In a statement, Brakewood said he's running for the seat because “our county government needs a strong dose of pragmatic, independent leadership that puts people first and partisan bickering last. In this era of high taxes and weak economy, we can’t afford a county government that spends more time vetoing legislation than it does on solving problems.”

As a parent of two young children, Brakewood's community involvement includes serving on the village zoning board and coaching Port Chester youth basketball. Brakewood's wife, Carolee, is a current member of the school district's Board of Education and King Street School PTA.

Brakewood has been endorsed by the Rye Town Democratic Party.

Rogowsky, a Harrison resident, has more than a dozen years of experience as a county legislator, most recently as the representative for District 6 for nearly a decade. A former congressional chief of staff who served briefly as a domestic policy advisor in the White House, Rogowsky announced his retirement earlier this year and will serve out the remainder of 2011.

County legislators in Westchester earn $49,200 per year.

Check back with Port Chester Patch for reaction to Brakewood's candidacy and more details about the upcoming race.

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